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Cost saving and time performance are usually essential to all parties who are involved in a construction project, that is owner, contractor, subcontractor. The main causes of disputes in construction projects involve delay and failure to complete the work in the specified cost and time frame. The delivery time of a project is a key factor to the owner in terms of cost as much as it is for the contractor.Unexpected increase in cost and delays in construction projects are caused by owner, contractor, environments, etc. in which several types of risk factors may occur concurrently. The effect of cost overrun and schedule overrun do not only influence the construction industry but the overall economy as well. Even though construction project increasing in cost and schedule has received extensive attention of researchers, but because of continuous changes and development in the field, the study considered of added value to the construction industry in Egypt, in addition to risk strategy and plan analysis. In order to meet the deadline of a project and due to the complex nature of construction projects, cost and scheduling should be flexible enough to accommodate changes without negatively affecting the overall project cost and duration. As such, the objectives of the presented research in this paper are to identify, study, and assess the effect of the factors that affect cost and time contingency. Data are collected from sixteen construction companies in Egypt. The collected data, output charts and analyses spreadsheets will be used for the development of computerized model built by the authors with identification abbreviation RIAM.

This paper investigates an issue largely ignored in the transport literature on cost overruns, namely, cost increases in the early project phase, long before the decision to build is made. This is the phase of project planning that is referred to as the front-end phase in the literature. The rationale of the study is that unless cost estimates during the front-end phase are relatively accurate, the wrong projects may be selected for further development. We first argue for why it is important to address cost escalation during the front-end phase of project planning. We then use Norwegian data to demonstrate the magnitude of cost escalations during the front-end phase of projects and in comparison to the implementation phase. We find that even in a sample of projects with relatively small cost overruns as in the case of Norway, there are substantial cost increases before the formal decision to build was made. This raises the issue of whether decisions and priorities taken at the early stages of proj...

State, regional, and local agencies need an established cost estimation method to improve the accuracy of programmed project funds. In particular, accurately estimating the cost of independent bicycle and pedestrian facilities helps improve prioritization, decision making, and the efficient allocation of funds for bicycle and pedestrian projects. The cost estimates vary by category as well as by the construction cost element. Obtaining cost data for an adequate number of projects of each facility type, although important, is challenging because of either the lack of available information or a reluctance in the sharing of information. This paper ( a) outlines methods to achieve a statistically significant sampling of cost data for bicycle and pedestrian facilities, ( b) addresses challenges associated with collecting the data from various agencies, and ( c) examines variations to better understand the estimates of individual construction cost elements. Recommendations pertaining to cost categories and cost elements that can help planners and engineers estimate the costs of independent bicycle and pedestrian projects are discussed.

Production networks need to be constantly adapted so companies can handle the introduction of new products, tap the opportunities of new markets or significantly save costs. Especially cost reductions require an adequate way to predict the cost effects of network adaptions such as product allocations or location decisions. However, studies show that a high amount of network adaptions have been reversed after a short period of time because expected cost savings could not be realized. One reason for this is that simplistic cost estimations are still common in industrial practice since literature approaches are often too complex or require too much effort to apply them. The approach presented in this paper tackles the problem of the low applicability of existing cost models. It is based on a set of three guiding principles: source-specific, objective-oriented and valid. The approach is source-specific because it includes a resource-based cost modeling method that is used to evaluate the operational costs for each product within the network. Objective orientation is achieved by a flexible aggregation method that enables to define the level of detail necessary for a given decision situation. The validity of the cost model, a crucial element for decision makers, is created through a method that allows for calibrating and adjusting the model with standardized cost information. The result of the presented approach is a comparison of unit costs as well as a net present value calculation for a given decision situation. An exemplary application shows how the approach can be used as a support for designing the future production network of a company.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to reengineer the process of cost management in large projects. Design/methodology/approach Considering the fact most large projects overrun their budgets because of the long time period needed to completion, it was decided to reengineer the cost management. Accordingly costs allocated to packages were reviewed and changed on a dynamic basis. Different types of contingencies were provided. Concepts of package contingency and project contingency were introduced. These were based on the project buffer and feeding buffer concepts popularised by Eliyahu Goldratt. Findings The re-engineered method of cost control worked well and yielded better than expected results, leading to the setting up of a new world record in the completion time for setting up a million tonnes per annum continuous, tandem cold rolling mill to roll steel sheets. Research limitations/implications In view of the total success of the reengineered approach, which was tested out on a large project over three years, it is felt that other projects could also try out this technique, especially since it is along the lines proposed by Eliyahu Goldratt who is an authority on project management. However the success can be better understood if the results of the testing become available. To that extent the contents of the present paper have limitations. Practical implications Large projects can deploy the methodology and complete their projects on time and under budget. Social implications The reengineering of the cost management was done primarily with a view to complete projects under budget. Since many governments spend many billions of dollars on publicly funded projects for the welfare of citizens, the use of this technique could have a salutary effect on the cost. Originality/value The method was innovated in the company by the author’s team and deployed in a live project over four years for the first time to achieve world-class results.

Construction projects are facing a greater number of uncertainties and more severe risks, which could cause much bigger losses than in the past, therefore, undertake of identification the factors that influence the cost overruns are indispensable. Resources of construction projects including the man, money, methods, machines, materials, and the market, all of these resources need to be arranged so that the project resources can be used effectively and efficiently or optimally. The purpose of this study was to identify the factors that cause the cost overruns in construction projects. Based on the results of the identification of the factors that cause the cost overrun on the implementation of construction project obtained several factors: estimated costs (X1), implementation and working relationships (X2), and the project documents (X3). I. Introduction In the implementation of projects, often projects experiencing cost overruns. Therefore, the project financing is the primary consideration, as usually involves a large number and vulnerable to the risk of project failure. Therefore, the implementation of construction projects requires a good project management, which aims to avoid or minimize project risks that may occur, including the risk of cost overrun and delay in execution time. A project will be successful if in accordance with the cost or budget has been planned, on time, and within specifications. Thus, a much-needed level of expertise, knowledge and experience that high in estimating the cost of the project until the project's cash flow management during the implementation stage, expertise in coordinating project resources, and project control are good so there is no cost overrun that could harm the

The importance of preliminary analysis of risk and cost for overseas plant construction projects is more and more emphasized due to intensive cost bidding competition. The vigorous competition between contractors causes a financial loss due to the low price bidding and risks factors of the project. Accordingly, the main purpose of this study is to present an analysis model that relates the risk and cost of overseas plant construction projects and to develop a prototype tool for the risk and cost analysis based on the model. Moreover, a case study is conducted using this prototype to analyze its risk and cost. The main contributions of this study are as follows: 1) A model and a prototype tool are developed for an analysis that relates the risk and cost 2) Risk factors are studied for a case analysis object and their impact has been numerically evaluated. As a result of the cost analysis, the risk cost of risk factors is defined and the related variation range of contract price, profit (residual profit) and loss are given. This research contributes in presenting an analysis method that relates the risk factors to the cost. Also, the examined results from a case study can be used as a reference data to predict the variation in the risk cost due to the risk factors in overseas plant construction projects.

Hydropower investments have been subject to intense criticism over environmental issues and the common experience with cost uncertainty. In this study we address the issue of uncertainty in cost projections by applying reference class forecasting (RCF) in order to improve the reliability of costs used for making decisions under uncertainty. This technique makes it possible to closely link contingency estimates to the likely incidence of uncertainty of construction costs for hydroelectric dams. A case study, the Bujagali dam in Uganda, is used to demonstrate how investment appraisal can be enhanced to better account for the risk of cost overruns. While this project has suffered from cost overruns, the net benefits of the dam are still expected to be substantial. We conclude that if historical information from the major financiers of dams is accessible, learning from the past can help to reduce the cost of uncertainty in power planning worldwide.

Project Management and Cost Engineering have made tremendous advances but we still witness all too frequent severe budget overruns and delays. A solution to this mega problem of budget overruns actually exists. Use of the Successive Principle has demonstrated this during the later decennials. It has demonstrated in tough practice that it is possible to make accurate, unbiased statistical prognoses of the factual project cost or other important key figures. The results reported here may be surprising, given the well-known history of cost overrun. In Scandinavia these principles have been widely accepted by top management and authorities. It has improved professional project management. A proper documentation is recently available in the form of two independent datasets of major public projects. This documentation and the key principles are summarised in this paper.

In order to be able to carry out early studies of viability, to analyze variants and to make tests of sensibility to the projects of wind farms, in this work has been developed a mathematical model for a quick, economic way and with enough precision, determine the cost that will have the park later when it is built. The method receives the name of parametric estimate of the cost. It consists on mathematics relationships between the variables or controllers (drivers) of the cost of projects. Although in the independent evaluations, the results might not be as exact as in the discrete methods, it presents a high relative precision when they are compared alternative, and their property of continuity allow him to work inside a calculation algorithm for the analysis of variants and sensibility where the technical and economic variables of the project are involved. It was developed and evaluated for the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean by the particular characteristics that exposed in the work with regard to other regions of the world. Engineering today is not limited to the solution of problems in their respective fields of knowledge, but takes into account all the variables that can affect the application of solutions and development projects. One of those variables are the cost, which allows analysis of alternatives, take decisions and change solutions related to the project. This is because the effectiveness of the projects is usually evaluated in economic terms where costs and income are the key variables. It is almost impossible to separate the technical from the economic. The different elements that make up the cost of the life cycle of a project are well defined, and its calculation should not have difficulties if those costs are separately and performed with discrete values. The problem occurs when there is a need to establish the continuous relationship between the cost and the basic parameters of the process. When the independent variables and the cost are enlisted in a decision algorithm, analysis must be consistent with both. In practice, the determination of the cost of the investment or capital cost can be performed by two general procedures: step-by-step or discrete direct determination and the determination by some method of estimation. The discrete calculation of the cost of projects normally done by the sum of the individual costs of engineering, equipment, materials and work within the capital cost. The parties may vary in size and number from a few to hundreds or thousands of tasks or discrete work packages. This calculation isusually carried out by the contractor and accompanied by the programming of each activity. The result may be necessary if all the determinants of the cost are dominant but are laborious, time-consuming work and do not disclose the relationship between the technical parameters and cost. There are different methods of estimation of the capital cost, some of them can be applied during the early stages of the project in which only need to have an idea of the cost; others may be as accurate as the discrete calculation. This paper presents the methodology followed for the development of a mathematical model for parametric estimation of the cost of wind farms for the specific conditions of Latin America and the Caribbean.

The following research work introduces a Cost Engineering Method for Product-Service Systems (PSS) based on a System Cost Uncertainty Analysis (SCUA). The proposed SCUA is a probabilistic method focused on determining the total operational cost of a PSS. The main purpose of this paper is to introduce a PSS cost engineering approach that reduces the aleatory uncertainty that exists in every PSS cost determination, and therefore provides certainty in the cost-capacity relationship that exists in every PSS offering.

Research and Innovation in Manufacturing: Key Enabling Technologies for the Factories of the Future - Proceedings of the 48th CIRP Conference on Manufacturing Systems / Edited by Roberto Teti 48th CIRP Conference on Manufacturing Systems, CIRP CMS 2015, Ischia, Italy, 24 Jun 2015 - 26 Jun 2015; Amsterdam [u.a.] : Elsevier, Procedia CIRP 41, (2016). doi:10.1016/j.procir.2015.08.105, Published by Elsevier, Amsterdam [u.a.]

Every capital-intensive constructions project goes through various challenges throughout their project life cycle. However, one crucial challenge is to understand and trace cost development over-time at planning phase. The research aim is threefold: firstly, to identify the critical factors of cost development in the planning phase. Secondly, to investigate empirically a dyadic relationship of cost deviation over time and quantitatively chart their developments. Thirdly, to analyze the construction cost data, discuss their cost developments and identify critical projects based on their actual financial impacts. The research considers 110 projects and analyze them using qualitative and quantitative research methods. The results showed higher cost escalation in the planning phase. The research identified critical factors for cost escalations at the planning phase. The average cost escalation of 110 projects (

When investing in new manufacturing systems, many aspects must be taken into consideration to ensure a sustainable business. In respect to the financial aspect, both the one-off investment cost and the continuous operational cost must be analysed to ensure that the life-cycle cost perspective is appreciated. However, one detail in the cost analyses that is often overlooked is the composition of fixed and variable cost elements. These details are important to be able to better manage the risk of market demand volatility, and accordingly make appropriate investment decisions. This case study demonstrates that when there is a low risk for reduced market demand, investing in a manufacturing system with low variable cost is favourable. However, if there is a high risk for reduced market demand, the importance will instead be to have a low fixed cost, as this will be the dominant cost factor.

Civil engineers are often in the firing line for alleged cost overruns, particularly on major publicly funded infrastructure projects. This usually occurs when the final cost of a project is simply compared with the original estimate, even though this was published a long time ago, in different circumstances and for a quite different project to the one carried out. This paper proposes a systematic approach to ensure that cost overruns, should they occur, are more accurately defined in terms of when the initial and end costs are assessed, from which point of view, at which project stage, and including scope changes and financial assumptions. The paper refers to the UK’s £163 billion nuclear decommissioning programme.

While system complexity is on the rise across many product lines, the resources required to successfully design and implement complex systems remain constrained. Because financiers of complex systems development efforts actively monitor project implementation cost, project performance models are needed to help project managers predict their cost compliance and avoid cost overruns. This article describes recent research conducted by the authors to develop a cost overrun predictive model using five known drivers of complex systems development cost. The study identifies schedule and reliability, as the key determinants of whether or not a large complex systems development project will experience cost overrun.

Although the Earned Value Management (EVM) technique has been used by several companies in various industrial sectors (software development, construction, aerospace, aeronautics, among others) for over 35 years to predict time and cost outcomes, many studies have found vulnerabilities, including: (i) cost performance data do not always have normal distribution, which makes reliable projections difficult; (ii) instability of cost performance indexes during the execution of projects, (iii) there is a worsening tendency in cost performance indexes when project approaches termination. This paper proposes an extension of the EVM technique through the integration of historical cost performance data of processes as a means to improve the project's cost predictability. The proposed technique was evaluated through an empirical study, which evaluated the implementation of the proposed technique in 22 software development projects. The proposed technique has been applied in real projects with the aim of evaluating the accuracy and variation compared to the traditional technique. Hypotheses tests with 95% significance level were performed, and the proposed technique was more accurate and more precise than the traditional technique for calculating the Cost Performance Index (CPI) and Estimates at Completion (EAC).

Since PERT was introduced in 1950's, many researchers have developed models to evaluate the probability of project success, which is to meet the target in terms of time and/or cost by considering uncertainty. This probability can be seen as the project reliability. In this paper, we proposed a model to measure project reliability with time and cost as the targets by considering resource availability under uncertainty. Typically, resource is also a factor that contributes to the time and cost uncertainty. Study in the field of project reliability has evolved but there were no further study re-viewing relationship between resources and both time and cost of the project. Therefore, in this research, we developed a model to explain various type of relationship among time, cost, and resource that mostly are prioritized in the project planning. We also provide a technical solution for this type of problem using Monte Carlo simulation. A numerical example is provided to give an illustration and to measure the level of practicability of this model to deal with real world problems.

Regardless the extensive literature in project management, the model for cost estimation remains unclear and unexploited mainly in terms of simple methods. Accuracy effort and schedule estimation is still a challenge. This paper introduces stream lining procedures from project work breakdown structure (WBS) evaluating the duration processes and either the input cost hour or the fixed costs. The measures are made via hypothesis testing over the responsibility assignment matrix (RAM). We propose a method for project cost construction using a spreadsheet to create an early-stage budget allocation. In this paper we argue that the simulated cost results present superior accuracy while establishing the applicability of the proposed simulation procedure. Generally, the precision is related with the WBS detailed design. The cost methodology approach offers a simplified decision tool for assessing the construction cost on the project managers’ decision.

A good organization of management accounting, particularly the preparation of production cost estimation, is a critical condition to provide an appropriate, useful and timely information of the cost for the decision making of the managers. Through a review of cost estimation preparation status of enterprises, this essay presents three procedures for making cost estimation by senior-level management, grassroots-level and the module in which these two procedures are combined.

Accurate assessment of effort, time and resources for estimation of project cost is a challenging task for project managers. Several methodologies are commonly practiced around the globe for project cost estimation based on the project’s scope, type, and availability of resources. In developing countries like Pakistan most of the construction projects face delay and cost overrun, and construction industry continues to use traditional methodologies for preparation of project cost estimates. Present study developed a probabilistic framework for project cost estimation using Monte Carlo Simulation. A probabilistic model is proposed for estimation of total project cost using data on key risk factors that included (1) labour efficiencies, (2) machine efficiencies, (3) construction material wastages, and (4) construction items’ prices. Using data from completed highway projects, model validation results revealed that developed model has the ability to predict reliable future project cost.

Purpose Project-based industries face major challenges in controlling project cost and completing within the budget. This is a critical issue as it often connects to the main objectives of any project. However, accurate estimation at the beginning of the project is difficult. Scholars argue that project complexity is a major contributor to cost estimation inaccuracies. Therefore, recognising the priorities of acknowledging complexity dimensions in cost estimation across similar industries is beneficial in identifying effective practices to reduce cost implications. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to identify the level of importance given to different complexity dimensions in cost estimation and to recognise best practices to improve cost estimation accuracy. Design/methodology/approach An online questionnaire survey was conducted among professionals including estimators, project managers, and quantity surveyors to rank the identified complexity dimensions based on their impacts in cost estimation accuracy. Besides, in-depth interviews were conducted among experts and practitioners from different industries, in order to extract effective practices to improve the cost estimation process of complex projects. Findings Study results show that risk, project and product size, and time frame are the high-impact complexity dimensions on cost estimation, which need more attention in reducing unforeseen cost implications. Moreover, study suggests that implementing a knowledge sharing system will be beneficial to acquire reliable and adequate information for cost estimation. Further, appropriate staffing, network enhancement, risk management, and circumspect estimation are some of the suggestions to improve cost estimation of complex projects. Originality/value The study finally provides suggestions to improve cost estimation in complex projects. Further, the results are expected to be beneficial to learn lessons from different industries and to exchange best practices.

Construction cost is the most important criteria of project success and hence the construction project performance is generally expressed in terms of cost and its variance from the budget. In spite of having extant literature, cost estimation methods, cost indices etc., construction projects rarely meet the budgeted cost. This research study focuses on the construction cost overrun and to identify the various factors that affects the construction cost performance. Based on an extensive literature review and input from industry experts, sixty eight factors that causes cost overrun were identified for investigation. Further, a structured questionnaire survey was conducted among the industry experts and the collected data has been analysed statistically. It is concluded that the factors namely scope creep, construction delays, rework and practise of awarding the contract to the lowest bidder are most significant factors for construction cost overrun in non-infrastructural Indian projects. The relative importance of the listed factors used to guide the project team in addressing the cost related risks involved in the projects. The findings are expected to bridge the gap in the current construction cost management practices.

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses a cost-effective approach to quality, reliability and safety. The costs associated with acquiring, operating and maintaining equipments are stated to be important factors and the total costs incurred over the period of ownership of equipment is referred to as life-cycle costs. The life-cycle costs can be separated into acquisition cost, ownership cost, operating cost and administration cost and the costs are influenced by reliability, maintainability and safety factors. The life-cycle costs will be reduced by improving reliability, maintainability and safety but will be increased by the activities needed to achieve them. Several figures are presented that illustrates the optimum set of parameters for minimizing total cost. The cost of risk reduction is discussed and the concept of ALARP (As Low As Reasonably Practicable). A risk is said to be ALARP, if the cost of further risk reduction is disproportionate to the benefit. This is determined by comparing the cost per life saved, from any proposed risk reduction with some agreed criterion. The costs and savings involved with safety engineering and the cost of quality are further discussed.

Themain content of the construction project cost management including costforecast, cost plan, cost control. Do cost forecast, cost control goal set,must be ahead of the labor, material, cost forecasting, construction scheme ofchange of the cost forecast and the prediction of auxiliary construction cost.Cost control should follow the principle of conservation and comprehensivecontrol, there are some effective ways to realize the cost control, forexample, take organizational measures to control the project cost, take technicalmeasures to control the project cost, to take economic measures to control theproject cost, strengthen quality management and control of rework rate, etc.

The construction industry drives economic growth and development in Malaysia, but unfortunately, its projects often suffer from cost overruns (that is, negative cost variance such that final project cost exceeds contract sum). This can lead to conflict and litigation, or in the extreme, projects may even be abandoned. To better understand this phenomenon, a questionnaire survey of Malaysian quantity-surveying consultants was undertaken to obtain project characteristics and cost performance data, in relation to a sample of 359 recently completed construction projects. Data were analysed in terms of project financial outturn based on: contract values; project sector; type of project; procurement route; nature of projects; and tendering method used. The findings offer stakeholders descriptive statistical cost performance information in relation to these characteristics. These statistics will support first-order project management decision-making within Malaysia particularly; and internationally more generally, with a view to helping minimise project cost variance in the future.

The earned value management is a systematic approach to measure project progress and forecast final cost of a project. However, this method has not significantly been improved over its earlier version and there are some criticisms against this standard method. This approach presents a good condition if only the cost performance index shows satisfactory results. The objective of this research is to propose a new methodology in project financial system according to the rules and regulations on mechanical equilibrium of a beam. The results have been successfully implemented which improved the standard project cost management system.

With the scale of program management getting larger and complexity, More accurate and precise method for management cost estimate is demanded. However, most of project management cost estimates are based on similar cases and hence can not reflect distinct features of each project. Cost estimate precision is also not up to the standards, and also troublesome to policy-making and budget allocation. Therefore, project typical model for cost estimate of Comprehensive Project Management is developed, and makes it easier to manage level of effort and allocate cost by applying characteristic factor of each project. This study categorized the project package by phase; planning, detailed design, and bid procurement, to develop typical model. And by designating specific level of effort required for each field and rank, the study aims to improve the method for calculating the detailed and objective program cost. Outcome of this study will prevent conflicts between client and contractor, accurately calculate program management contract cost for the client, and become a reference for the contractor to receive rational and practical payments for their work.

The research under product development domain identifies and implements new concepts in design, planning, manufacturing, testing, and service sectors to keep up with the market demands. Many product developments are multi-generational in nature and may require redesigning the product at each generation because an optimized strategy for a single generation may not be the best option in the multi-generation scenarios. With this regard, this article proposes a novel product life-cycle cost estimation model to support engineering decision-making in a multi-generational product development environment. This cost estimation model develops a mathematical formulation which has three major cost constituents: development cost, service cost, and associated risks cost. The risks cost further includes three components coming from technical risk, market risk, and operation risk. The developed mathematical formulation measures the on-going multi-generational product development’s status, addresses its basic needs such a...

The construction project for the construction woks is the cost center of the construction enterprise and the standpoint of the cost management for the construction enterprise, strengthening the cost management is the inevitable choice of the construction enterprise to accumulate the funds and enhance the competitiveness. Since the construction project period is long, it is complex to recognize the median income and measurement of the intermediate cost, and the bidding period and the cost incurred after putting into use are uncertain, the traditional cost management method no longer meets the practical needs of the management for the building construction enterprise. This requires us to be innovative in the cost management mode of the construction project, and make a scientific estimation in the future level of cost and possible future trends through the objective-cost planning research of the construction project.

Estimating the cost of construction projects with high accuracy at the early phase of project development is crucial for project planning and financing. Construction clients require early and accurate cost advice prior to site acquisition and commitment to build in order to enable them to take the correct decision concerning whether to construct the project or not. However, many factors might affect the accuracy of a cost estimate. This study aims at identifying the factors affecting the accuracy of cost estimating construction projects in the West Bank in Palestine. A survey of 60 contractors and 45 consultants from the West Bank in Palestine was performed. Forty-one factors are identified in the study. The study investigates the impact of those factors measured by level of importance and ranked according to an importance index from both the contractors' and the consultants' points of view. The degree of agreement between the participating parties on the importance ranking of the factors affecting cost e...

ICT costs have been traditionally assessed using well-established methods such as full cost accounting or total cost of ownership. Within their specific, optimal application areas they provide very good tools for cost follow-up and strategic decision-making. However, as the scale and complexity of the system being analysed grows, these methods become less suitable. In particular, due to the complex funding structures, and the multi-supplier and cross-country nature of service provision, estimating the total costs of European computing services for research is perhaps one of the best examples of such complex, large-scale systems. Solving this challenge is crucial for the sustainability of these services: besides obvious technical budgeting challenges, difficulties in comparing the cost-effectiveness of different service delivery options make sustaining public support for funding more arduous than it should be. This paper presents a novel cost assessment methodology that addresses the above challenges and uses an in-depth analysis of the pan-European computing e-Infrastructure costs as a case study illustrating the use of the methodology. We also use this case study as an illustration of the kind of cost assessment issues that high-utilisation rate computing services should consider when choosing between different infrastructure options (for example comparing costs per core hour of in-house resources and public Cloud offerings).

Software engineering includes an important 4Ps concept regarding the productivity, processes, people, and project. Efficiently managing skilled people in Software Project Scheduling (SPS), considering various tasks and software project cost is an upheld task. Scheduling and then making Software cost estimation is composite work for project manager (PM) which consists of many cost drivers and their principles related to 4Ps. In this paper, we considered skilled employees as one of the important 4Ps and an important resource to schedule the cost and calculate the cost of the project along with some constraints of tasks. The paper gives a near-optimal estimated cost of project by using different combination of crossover types and dynamic mutation rated Simple Genetic Algorithm (SGA). The paper also considers the aspects of head count, effort and duration calculated by COCOMO-II. These parameters are used to verify the fitness of each chromosome to get estimated cost by SGA closer to the cost estimated by COCOMOII. The concept of concurrency utilization is included in this paper which satisfies the ultimate aim of project manager or company to get the quality project within minimum time and cost.

Purpose – The main purpose of the study is to promote consideration of the issues and approaches available for costing sustainable buildings with a view to minimising cost overruns, occasioned by conservative whole-life cost estimates. The paper primarily looks at the impact of adopting continuity in whole-life cost models for zero carbon houses. Design/methodology/approach – The study embraces a mathematically based risk procedure based on the binomial theorem for analysing the cost implication of the Lighthouse zero-carbon house project. A practical application of the continuous whole-life cost model is developed and results are compared with existing whole-life cost techniques using finite element methods and Monte Carlo analysis. Findings – With standard whole-life costing, discounted present-value analysis tends to underestimate the cost of a project. Adopting continuity in whole-life cost models presents a clearer picture and profile of the economic realities and decision-choices confronting clients and policy-makers. It also expands the informative scope on the costs of zero-carbon housing projects. Research limitations/implications – A primary limitation in this work is its focus on just one property type as the unit of analysis. This research is also limited in its consideration of initial and running cost categories only. The capital cost figures for the Lighthouse are indicative rather than definitive. Practical implications – The continuous whole-life cost technique is a novel and innovative approach in financial appraisal […] Benefits of an improved costing framework will be far-reaching in establishing effective policies aimed at client acceptance and optimally performing supply chain networks. Originality/value – The continuous whole-life costing pioneers an experimental departure from the stereo-typical discounting mechanism in standard whole-life costing procedures.

The cost is one of the four major targets for the project management; this paper introduces the construction cost reliability as an indicator to measure the management level of project cost. Through the statistic analysis of historical data, the comparative analysis about the actual cost data and original planned cost for each unit of work in the finished project is conducted to confirm the probability distribution of cost overrun or cost saving and predict the reliability of cost, and this is applied in a real project case.

A model of the cost and schedule of a development program, characterized by three non-dimensional parameters, gives means for estimating the cost and schedule impacts of constraining funding below planned levels, as well as for assessing the realism of the costs and schedules of planned programs. In contrast to models of the Norden-Rayleigh-Weibull class, the model explicitly considers specific components of cost, and captures the distinction between a development program’s value (i.e., the things delivered) and its cost (i.e., the money paid to acquire the value). Treating staff levels, staff productivity and cost, overhead, purchased material costs, and the burdens imposed by staff coordination and by allocating a program’s effort to individual workers or teams and collating the results, the model reflects effects of management actions to make programs optimal by such criteria as minimal cost, minimal time, or minimal cost subject to a maximum-time constraint.

The increasing constraints that construction companies face due to the prolonged financial crisis and the contracting construction market necessitate the need for more and more realistic and efficient approaches to the planning, scheduling and monitoring of their projects. A deterministic approach to project management that has preset parameters of time and cost and in which decisions are taken based on independent analyses of time or cost, even if they are interrelated, has a low likelihood to be successful. Construction projects are typically confronted with delays and additional costs, which reduce a company's profit and can lead to its bankruptcy. Therefore, a more efficient approach should take into account the risk of these events, the uncertainties and resources limitations in construction project planning, scheduling and monitoring and also the correlation between the time, cost and resource limitation parameters. This paper provides a practical approach to quantitative risk analysis using the Monte Carlo Method and highlights the correlation between the parameters of time, cost and resource limitation in construction projects. The project execution is analyzed not only by the probability of the parameters of time and cost together but also by the trends of them together. This approach integrates the scope, time, cost, resources and risks of a project and provides a better tool for decision-making. To demonstrate the advantages of this approach, a case study of a construction project is analyzed using Spider Project software.

Despite several decades of research and refinement in cost estimating tools and practices, the final cost of US space programs continues to exceed initial cost estimates by an average of more than 45%. Thus, program cost models not only exhibit error, they are seriously biased. A structured review surveyed techniques, approaches, models and conceptual tools related to space program cost estimating, to understand cost in complex space systems. Analysis shows problems of cost estimating result from the growing complexity of space programs, failures in managing growth, and mission failures. Although there is greater expectation for the models to accurately predict program costs, the current models used for seeking funding for large space programs are inadequate due to (1) inability to predict future, (2) lack of insight, and (3) process replaces judgment in decision making.

During the construction phase it is the prime respo nsibility of project managers to monitor cost and a void any overruns to maintain the cost baseline. Project monitoring is a n ongoing process and its importance cannot be unde rmined during the project life cycle. It can be monitored by using traditiona l approach of direct reporting of actual cost again st budget. However, the comparison of budget versus actual spending does no t indicate the worth of the work which is completed at any given time. This approach does not portray the true cost performance of the project. In general Construction cost contr ol consists of simply monitoring actual performance against cost estimate s and identifying variances. It has been usually se en there is a lack of systematic and automated evaluation and monitoring system in construction project. Due to these limita tions, this paper discusses traditional project monitoring practices in constru ction industry and proposes some guideline for impr oving cost management in fast, complex and uncertain construction projects. Such guideline involves the integrated application of Average Index formula and S-curves. This study discusses the result of qu estionairre survey conducted on various constructio n sectors to show how cost is compare as prime constraint in real estate secto r.

Engineering change directly impacts on project cost of construction projects. Beginning upon the typical engineering cases based on the quantities bill valuation, the author carried out the quantitative analysis of the impact on project cost under different changes , and find out a effective measure to prevent changes in order to control project cost.

A major driver to project success is the ability to manage the project cost effectively. Despite the agreement among scholars and practitioners on the importance of managing the project cost, excessive cost overruns continue to occur on major power transmission projects. In this paper, the author, through a Delphi method, will discover problems of managing the project cost, suggest solutions to overcome these problems, and identify lessons learned from these projects. The study was conducted with two different project teams in the same organization in Canada. Key findings from this study will highlight similarities and differences between the two cases in terms of how each team managed the project cost and learned from it. The paper will contribute to the body of knowledge by identifying lessons learned from power transmission projects on how to manage the project cost and by suggesting solutions to overcome the problem of cost overrun in these projects.

In recent years, construction industry develops rapidly with infrastructure investment continuing to increase. Project cost management is demanded increasingly in engineering project management, and cost forecast is a vital part that enterprise strengthen overall cost management and play an important role in engineering project management increasingly. This paper uses single regression method to forecast engineering project cost, in order to make project cost management more scientific and effective.

Beginning from the definition and cost of measure item fee, analyzes the significance of construction cost control of contestable measure items. Measures of cost control are summarized from five perspectives of specific construction plansformulation, materials, machinery, labor and management-with combination of specific projects, so as to provide reference for cost control in projects.

Under the current construction cost management system, bill of quantity is only applicable to project transaction period and project implementation period, while the earlier stage of project which is decisive for construction cost control still adopts estimation and budget estimate under quota mode. However, hysteresis quality of quota cannot timely reflect the current situations of market, causing the interface failure between the two modes, and even the failure of investment control. The paper, in light of foreign advanced experience and Chinas national condition characteristics, puts forward the design philosophy of information data base of construction cost which is more suitable for valuation with bill quantity, which provides completed construction cost data as basis for the construction cost overall-process management based on bill of quantity.

Historical cost data estimating system has been introduced since 2004 in the construction industry. Based on contract prices of past projects, this estimating system estimates construction cost according to work types. The Korea Institute of Construction Technology (KICT) announces the historical cost data twice a year annually. The unit price of a small construction project is higher than large construction project due to the increase on production cost per work unit, equipment and labor cost, etc. However, the historical cost data estimating system is applied to project estimation uniformly regardless the construction project`s size. This study compared and analyzed the historical cost data of large and small construction project to indicate the problem of historical cost date estimating system. The study derived that the unit price of a small construction project is 21.8% higher than that of large construction project.

Determining the quality cost is one of the best ways that can assist industrial or business organizations to know clearly the investment and return of their quality improvement efforts. The information provided by accurate quality cost calculation is also a significant tool that can assist our assessment of the effectiveness of quality management system, as well as identification of quality issues within the organization and creation of opportunities for improvement. The purpose of this paper is to show the development of a quality cost model that includes all possible quality cost components such as Prevention, Appraisal and Failure (P.A. F) costs. Based on reviewing and analyzing various quality cost models, a generic quality cost model is developed. The proposed model can be used as a tool to calculate various quality costs. In addition, it can be used to determine the most serious failure cost. A case study has used to validate the proposed model. In this case, the implementation showed that the model is able to identify and quantify the hidden cost related to the quality in electronic assembly plant. Also, it is used to identify the potential improvement opportunities within the plant.

Cost is one of the major considerations throughout the project management life cycle and can be regarded as one of the most important parameters of a project and the driving force of project success. Despite its proven importance, it is common to see a construction project failing to achieve its objectives within the specific cost. Cost variation is a very frequent phenomenon and is almost associated with nearly constructing all wastewater projects. Maintaining steady cost projection on wastewater projects had been recently an issue of serious concern, both to the client and project contractors. Cost deviation from initial cost plan had been prevalent on construction sites. However, little or no effort has been made to curtail the phenomenon, this research work attempts to identify, investigate and rank factors perceived to affect cost variation in the Egyptian wastewater projects with respect to their relative importance so as to proffer possible ways of coping with this phenomenon. To achieve this objective, author invited practitioners and experts, comprising a statistically representative sample, to participate in a structured questionnaire survey. Brain storming was taken into consideration, through which a number of cost variation factors were identified for constructing wastewater projects. Totally 52 factors were short-listed to be made part of the questionnaire survey and the survey was conducted with experts and representatives from private, public and local general construction firms. The data were analyzed using Relative Importance Index, ranking and simple percentages. It was analytically discovered that factors such as: (1) Lowest bidding procurement method; (2) Additional work; (3) Bureaucracy in bidding/tendering method; (4) Wrong method of cost estimation; and (5) Funding problems were critical for causing cost variation, while (1) Inaccurate cost estimation; (2) Mode of financing and payment for completed work; (3) Unexpected ground conditions; (4) Inflation; and (5) Fluctuation in prices of raw materials are also responsible. The study concluded with recommending, ensuring adequate and available source of finance, allocating sufficient time and funding the design phase while cost estimators should be aware of the problems, but must not allow to deflect them from their primary tasks, which must always use all data and time available to produce the best possible estimate, improve owner’s project management procedures, material bulk purchase, establishing fraudulent system of individual accountability to discourage stealing and other related vices, adequate planning by breaking project planning into short term achievable goals, medium term planning and long term planning, and through estimation process for projects cost calculations, with vigilant planning, keeping in view trends of inflation and depreciation factors, construction cost variation trends in wastewater projects with lead to smoother implementation and achievement of desired cost control. Also, this paper serves as a guide and reference for contractors and construction managers for more effective management in constructing wastewater projects to achieve a competitive level of quality and a cost effective project.

The subject of poor cost performance has been widely published in the mainstream project and construction management literature. Nevertheless, the underlying responsibilities of the key stakeholders (clients, consultants, and contractors) in managing this chronic problem in the Australian construction industry remain unclear. By performing an in-depth analysis of the roles and responsibilities of these key stakeholders, this research is intended to unfold the industrywide perception of cost performance being heavily reliant on the contractor's performance alone. Based on a thorough literature review and relevant industry inputs, 73 attributes associated with cost performance were identified for investigation. Based on the relative importance weighing technique on 48 selected attributes, planning and scheduling deficiencies have the highest impact on cost performance from clients, consultants, and contractors' perspectives. Confirmatory factor analy- sis on the combined responses across all three groups suggests that robust control procedures and adequate programming, along with efficient design and effective site management, are the most critical factors. These factors are primarily associated with the responsibilities of contractors and consultants for managing cost overruns in projects. However, the client's responsibility in facilitating effective management of these factors within the project environment is crucial. Multivariate regression analysis performed on eight factors' scores highlighted the influence offive significant factors (p < 5%) on managing cost overruns. The findings are expected to abridge a significant knowledge gap by shifting the priorities in cost estimation and management practices across all industry sectors. DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)CO.1943-7862 .0000621. © 2013 American Society of Civil Engineers.

Estimating the construction cost of a tunnel with certain diameter and length during the planning stage of a project is essential and a “must do” to justify the project, but it is a very difficult task. Numerous variables influence the cost of tunnel construction and limited information is available at early stages of design when the possible use of tunnels is being studied. Therefore, there is limited number of models at engineers’ disposal for development of a proper cost estimate in tunneling projects. The focus of this study was to offer a model for estimation of the construction cost of tunnels for various applications in the preliminary stage of a project. The work is based on study of nearly 270 projects and statistical analysis of the recoded construction costs, tunnel size, ground conditions, and tunnel applications. Several cost estimation models are introduced for various tunnel types including waste water, water, and transportation tunnels in soft ground and rock. The model uses commonly available cost indices (CCI and BCI) to adjust the estimated costs for the time and location of the project. The proposed cost models presented in this study can included in a simple program to help users make more accurate and quick cost estimates for their future projects. The models do not deal with construction risk which is an essential part of the study of various methods and should be done through developing a risk registry with related cost of each case before final selection, design, and cost estimation of any tunneling project.

Cost estimation is an important part of project planning. Over the years different approaches have developed, taking uncertainty into account in the cost estimation processes in order to tackle the dynamic nature of projects. However, when implementing these approaches, some challenges have been revealed. The aim in a cost estimation process is to establish a realistic overview of the total project costs and its uncertainties. Even though tools and methods for taking uncertainty into account are implemented, projects with cost overruns are often seen. In this paper we look into some challenges with the practice in cost estimation processes and identify possible improvements to overcome them. The purpose of this paper is to illustrate better solutions to some of the major weaknesses identified in current cost estimation practice. We use a case study of decommissioning of Barsebäck Nuclear Power Plant to illustrate how to overcome these challenges. First of all, this is an interesting case with challenges related to the project and the cost estimation process, given the complexity in the situation and that very few have experiences related to decommission of nuclear power plants. Second, we applied an approach that is not yet commonly used to develop cost estimates for this kind of projects. The paper concludes that it is possible to improve the results of uncertainty analysis of cost estimates. A well prepared process, with a suitable group of experts that go through a well-structured process, focusing both on risks and opportunities and using a top-down approach can compensate for some of the challenges related to cost estimation under uncertainty. ©2016 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open accessarticle distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution(CC-BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).